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Fun With Callwave: Call # 1
Thursday, November 29, 2007

I'm pretty busy today, and not much in the mood to write about poker, so I'm going to introduce a new series of posts I plan to do here every so often. This has nothing to do with poker, but I still want to do it on this blog. If it gets annoying - and you guys just have to let me know in the comments - then maybe I'll start a new blog just for these types of posts. 'Cause that's just what we need in this world...one more friggin' blog.

So anyways, the series of posts are born from an idea my buddy brought up to me recently. A few months ago I signed up for a service by Callwave. In essence it is just a free voice mail service that gives you an alternative to your current cell phone voice mail. I love our Alltel service, but I despise their voicemail. I did some research a while back and determined Callwave was the best available - and free - option out there.

One of the features of Callwave is their Vtxt GIST. Rather than butcher explaining what their GIST feature is, let me just pull the explanation straight from their site.

~ VtxtSM GIST is a new CallWave feature, currently in Beta release, that transforms voicemail into readable text. It is designed to provide the key words and phrases of a message – the gist – to enable you to decide if you need to call back right away, wait until later, or ignore the message entirely. Our automated system transcribes your callers' messages and delivers them to your cell phone as SMS text. You can read and search your voicemail on your Phone Page.

Now let me first say that I love this service. Most of the time I can read the quick text and know whether I need to call a person back right away, or even at all. While it does add more texts to my service plan, the voice minutes I save each month more than make up for it. Plus, under the plan I'm on, I have plenty of texts to use each month and I never exceed my limit. Okay lets just tell the truth...I'm not very cool, so I don't get many calls in a day.

Here's the thing about the service that is prompting this and future posts. Sometimes the "gist" is way off from what the person was trying to say on the voice mail. And sometimes it is just plain hilarious. So much so that, at times, I avoid answering my phone just so I can see what Callwave makes of the voice mail.

Now don't get me wrong, like I noted above, I LOVE the service. It is so much better than Alltel's service and, most importantly, it is FREE. So if you hate your current voice mail service, then check these guys out. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this series of posts I will call, Fun With Callwave. Here is the first message I got this morning. This one is rather tame, but still...



The GIST As Texted To Me:

...chicken which'll punk ass to see if you want to go get some long sometime this week a next - get back in touch with me and I want to know if you did playing poker lately and - how you doing I'm in they don't.

My Initial Take After Reading The Text, But Prior To Listening To The Voice Mail:

~ What the hell is a chicken which'll and why is it a punk ass?
~ There's a good chance I don't want to get long with anyone...that sounds kind of dirty.
~ I'm in they don't? Okay.

The Actual Voice Message:

Yooooo....what's up dog...just checking in with your punk ass to see if you want to go get some lunch sometime this week or next. Uhhh...get back in touch with me...and uh...I want to know if you been playing poker lately and uh...how you doin'. Alright man...later.



Like I said, this is a tame one, but it gives you a taste of how their software can butcher parts of a message and even add stuff that wasn't even close to being in the actual voice mail, but still somehow effectively let me know what the gist of the message was. Successful and fun!

Until next time, may the felt be with you.

Labels:

posted by TripJax @ 11:48 AM, ,




Not Meant BBTwo Be Last Night
Tuesday, November 27, 2007

I had a good time in the BBTwo Rebuy Hoy last night, although it was a tad stressful. Having pulled out the bulk of my roll in preperation for Vegas, I'm playing on bankroll fumes. Add to the fact I'm trying to play as many BBTwo events as possible, as well as keep at my Full Tilt Poker Turbo SNG Challenge, and you have a recipe for trouble.

I ended up spending $60 and was poised for a run at the money and a final table finish, but with 13 remaining out of the initial 54 runners, and a decent above average stack, I ran my top set into Fuel's straight in a SB vs BB hand. I was getting the feeling I was again going to be the catalyst for a blogger to win a BBTwo Tournament Of Champions seat (not really, but it feels that way), but Mr. 55 ended up losing a huge pot at the hands of Surflexus who ended up getting Astined*. I've also been Astined this year (as well as a 4th place finish), but not to the extent that, erm, Astin has.

As for last night, it was hard to root against either of the final two (cmitch being the eventual winner), 'cause they are both class acts at the poker table. As bad as I felt for Surf, I felt equally good for cmitch as he definitely deserves a seat.

Watching cmitch play last night reminded me of the Heads-Up match I played against him way back when. That series of games sparked my greatest photoshop ever. I spent weeks** working on this pic, crafting the perfect emotion I felt after it was all over...


Until next time, may the felt be with you.

* Sort of like being Munsoned (see the movie Kingpin if you don't know what I'm talking about).
** Minutes

posted by TripJax @ 3:53 PM, ,




The Gayest Of The Gay Indians
Monday, November 26, 2007

Even though I was sick much of the time, I had a great Thanksgiving Holiday. There's nothing quite like spending time with the ones you love, eating way too much grub, and watching tons of football. Not only that, but Thanksgiving is one of the few holidays where you really don't have to do anything. There's no presents to hand out or Hallmark cards to purchase. You just shove your fat ass up to the dinner table, then pass out on the couch.

The above view is rather short sighted as I realize a ton of work goes into planning and cooking and all that jazz, but I'm just looking at it from my perspective. I like my perspective.

On Thanksgiving morning ChickJax made Indian hats for KidJax and LilJax...





Once she was done, she jokingly asked if I wanted one as well. I think I surprised her when I told her I definitely wanted one. Unfortunately for me she had used up all the good feathers for the kids hats. There were only 3 feathers left and two of them were pink and purple. Yes folks, for the remainder of the day, I was the gayest of the gay indians.

In an attempt to regain my manhood, after stuffing my face at the Thanksgiving table, I decided to go chop some wood. A few weeks earlier the wedge had gotten stuck in one of the pieces of wood and I made it my job to get that sucker out. It took quite a few pops with the old axe, but eventually I split the wood, got that wedge out and added two pieces to the pile for the fireplace. Woot!

Behold the gay indian with his perty feathers...



As you may have noticed, I wear my indian headdress like my baseball caps...backwards.

We had Thanksgiving at ChickJax's Mom's house this year and it was so much better than in years past. For quite some time her Mom and Step Dad have been on the move, constantly going from this house to that house to that apartment..and on and on. Finally, this year it looks as if they've found a place to stay. They went from a dingy old apartment that I used to dread going to, to this kick ask cabin in the middle of nowhere...





I absolutely love going out to their house now. Nothing like having a peaceful cabin out in the woods to go visit once in a while. It's also great for the kids as they can run and play without us having to worry about traffic and roads and all that jazz.



I did my best during the holidays to stay away from the computer and poker. I don't think I touched the computer for 3 straight days. I finally caved on Sunday after seeing Chad's post about his recent foray into the Turbo SNG's. By the way, you gotta love this picture from his post. If you're wondering how I could read his post if I wasn't on the computer for days, I was checking my Google Reader from my Blackberry. That helps me not have 1546 posts to read when I do eventually get back to the computer. Yeah, I know, that's like being on a computer, so sue me*.

I can't help but think my recent posts on my Full Tilt Poker SNG Challenge are what gently nudged Chad in the turbo SNG direction. Getting him back to his roots, if you will, as The SNG Machine. It is to be determined if he can slay the turbo dragons, though early indications are promising.

Speaking of Chad, he recently left the following comment on my SNG Challenge post about my lack of 1st place finishes...

He recently left a comment on this post:




I wonder if you have so many 3rd place finishes and so few 1st and 2nds because you don't shove enough 4 handed? Gotta exploit that bubble and try to win :)


At first I thought his comment might be misguided as the turbos are just an entirely different monster from the regular SNG's. By the time you get to the bubble, you are almost always in push or fold mode, so you can't get much more aggressive. However, he was right. When I looked back on my hand histories, I was aggressive, but I was giving up way too many blinds and opportunities to take down orphan pots, which basically had me limping into the money.

On Sunday I decided to work a bit harder to build on my 1st place finishes, even at the expense of growing my 4th place finishes. I only played 5 SNG's and below are my numbers...



So two 1st place finishes and one 2nd out of 5 total SNG's. I'll take that any ole day. I definitely need to play more SNG's at a time if I'm going to really get a ton in so I'll probably start 5 and 6 tabling again soon. Here are my current stats...



I'm definitely happy that my 1st, 2nd and 3rd place finishes are better than any other position, but I'd like to get that 1st place up a little higher in the long run. Not sure how sustainable any of the numbers are that I'm compiling, but like I said before, I've played so few it really isn't much to go on. Still, I'll take it.

My starting roll was $144 and I'm up $108, putting me at $252. That keeps me at Level 2 on my Full Tilt Poker Turbo SNG Challenge, but I'll hit Level 3 soon if I can get to $288. We'll see...

Until next time, may the felt be with you.

*Please don't sue me.

posted by TripJax @ 11:10 AM, ,




Full Tilt Poker Turbo SNG Challenge Continues...
Thursday, November 22, 2007

I'm 33 games in on my Full Tilt Poker Turbo SNG Challenge, which I mentioned here, and so far so good. I'm only up $40 right now, which puts me at $184 from my starting $144, but I'm always happy to start in the green. I realize 33 SNG's is way too small a sample to gather any information, but it's nice to start up instead of stressing with a downswing immediately.

Having Tourney Manager really has helped me be able to take a look at my numbers immediately and determine certain trends. For instance, as I mentioned earlier, I felt I was having way too many 3rd place finishes, and in looking closer at my hand histories, I was getting way too giddy once in the money. You do not make good money with 2nd and 3rd place finishes because you must make up for all the times you don't get in the money. Thus, those 1st place finishes really become paramount.

I'm still on Level 2 and have quite a ways to go to get to $288 and Level 3, but I'm enjoying it along the way. I'll leave you with my current information so far. Current ROI of 10% and ITM of 45.5%. My average $ per hour is pretty abysmal, but I can grow that one as I go up in Levels...

(click to embiggen)



Until next time, may the felt be with you.

posted by TripJax @ 12:15 PM, ,




I Am Thankful For Extra Spending Money In Vegas...

...Brought To You (And By You I Mean Me) By Casino Bar's 3 Card Poker.

So here's the deal...Casino Bar has asked me to do a litte write up on their 3 Card Poker game and I figure that works for me...

3 card poker is, in essence, two online games in one. The player - that being you, once you sign up and play - may bet on either one of the games, both, and in different amounts. Both casino games are based on hands consisting of three cards.

One of the 3 Card Poker games is Pairs Plus, a simple game in which you get three cards and are paid based on their value. The dealer's hand is insignificant in Pairs Plus. There is no raising and no discarding in this game. Basically there is no skill in this game, just getting lucky and gamboooling it up. In this game, a straight is tougher to make than a flush.

Another version of 3 Card Poker is the Ante & Play. First you wager on Ante. After the player (that's you again, remember) views his or her three cards he or she may raise by putting an equal bet on play or fold and lose the Ante bet.

If the player does raise, believing he has better odds in the game, he goes against the dealer's hand. The dealer needs at least a queen high to qualify. Below are the possible outcomes and their payouts as listed on the Casino Bar site:

* Dealer does not qualify: Ante wins 1 to 1, play bet is returned.
* Dealer qualifies and player beats dealer: Both play and Ante win 1 to 1.
* Dealer qualifies and dealer beats player: Both Play and Ante lose.
* Dealer qualifies and dealer ties player: Both Play and Ante push.

Give 3 Card Poker a whirl. You don't even have to tell'em TripJax sent ya.

The preceding has been a paid advertisement.

posted by TripJax @ 11:41 AM, ,




Full Tilt Turbo SNG Challenge
Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Short post today as I continue on a strugglefest. The stomach flu I had last week and into the weekend has somehow morphed into a head cold. Being the poker trooper I am, however, I still took my chances in the BBTwo last night at The Hoy. Midway through the first hour I was bluffed off a 5k pot that would have put me near 10k and definitely near the top of the pack. I played the hand terribly after the flop and got what I deserved. My opponent was kind enough to show me his AK on a Q high board when I was holding a Q (and an open ended straight draw that didn't pan out).

I almost let that missed chance effect my play, but I moved on rather quickly instead. Unfortunately my chips kept falling and with the blinds raising so quickly I knew I had to get to work. I eventually tried to poach chips from Blinders which, in hindsight, was a pretty bad idea. He's a tightbox so that play either works like a charm or looks horrid. This time it looked horrid. I wanted to believe he was opening up his game due to the short-handed turbo format, and that I could take some chips from him by coming over the top, but my theory put me to the rail.

I'm not very impressed with my play in the BBTwo of late, so I'm hoping I can get my shit together soon.



Needing some relief from the MTT's of late, I've decided to rekindle my love for a good ole poker challenge. I was looking back on an old post, Prepare To Clarify, which detailed my old 6-Max SNG Challenge, and it got me craving more. This time around I've decided to change things up from my original challenge. I've reconstructed the graph to fit the 9 player, one table turbo SNG's on Full Tilt.

The challenge is pretty simple. You start with a set amount in your roll and build it or bust it. I've published the simple chart here. The yellow section is what I'll be focusing on, 'cause if I get to that point I'll probably stop. The section in green is the current level I'm on. I'm up to $169 from my starting stack of $144 (I skipped level one). I've been multi-tabling 4 or 5 tables at a time and have currently played 26 sng's so far.

I'm in the money nearly 44% of the time so far, but I've already found a leak in my game. I know that is a tiny sample size, but I can already tell a weakness I need to work on. It seems once I make it into the money, I open up my game way too much and have paid dearly for it with more 3rds than 1st or 2nds. I've been getting trigger happy with the raise button in situations that I don't need to. For instance when I'm in 1st or 2nd in chips and end up overplaying a hand against the other big stack, while the 3rd player doesn't have many chips left but still coasts into a 2nd place finish due to my poor play. Something to work on.

I will be updating the graph with more detail and implementing some form of a stop loss such that, once I break through a level, I give myself an out to avoid putting myself at $0 and losing all my gain. Everything is still coming together, but once I have more detail I will post about it. To help me along the way, I went ahead and purchased Tourney Manager, which is really just a nice SNG Tracker. I used up my trial version and decided it was worth it to help me during my sng play.

Until next time, may the felt be with you.

posted by TripJax @ 11:34 AM, ,




The Big Game
Sunday, November 18, 2007

Coming soon to a monitor near you...



Until next time, may the felt be with you.

posted by TripJax @ 12:50 PM, ,




My Two Cents
Friday, November 16, 2007

I still haven't gotten a chance to write the follow-up to my Exuding Strength post that I mentioned I would do here. I was all set to fire up Blogger yesterday, but I started feeling a tad off. Within the hour I was having serious stomach issues. I won't go into details, but lets just say I could hold nothing down and I couldn't even drink water. I headed home and slept most of the day. I did manage to wake up and attempt to play the Riverchasers event while in bed, but everything was pretty much a blur.

I've taken today off from work as well. I'm feeling better, but still not 100%. Hopefully I'll feel up to par by tonight. I don't foresee any alcamahol in my future this weekend though. Pwned.



As for the Riverchasers tourney, I finished somewhere in the points, but way out of the money or final table action. I think I was out in 24th...a disappointing effort in the end. While I had a pretty good run in the 1st hour (with one huge suckout early), I went completely card dead in the 2nd hour. I had QQ once and it folded to my raise. Other than that my best hand was one AQ and, my last hand of the tournament, AJ. A tournament is not won or lost by the cards you have, but how you play them, so I did my best with what I had. In the end, I applied pressure when I could - and with what I had - but it was not to be.

I have to give a congrats to XxMagicianxX for his 2nd BBTwo win by taking down the Riverchasers event last night. Definitely impressive to win 2 events so far. It's a shame he has ZERO class on the felt. I'm not sure what I've done to deserve his crap, but alas he feels the need to toss it my way. Thus, I'm going to go ahead right now and make the following statement known, just to make sure we are all on the same page...

I don't need any poker advice from anyone at the table. If you don't like the way I play, too bad.

I know I can't stop anyone from being an assclown in the chat, but I damn sure can say what I want in this little corner of the intertubes. I've come to terms with the fact that some people just can't control their emotions when they play poker. For every person that takes a bad beat and simply writes, "gg, gl all," there is another person out there who acts like a complete tard.

What really makes me laugh, though, are the people who try and teach you in the chat after you make a move they disagree with. Seriously, what the fuck are you trying to prove? Keep your comments to yourself and take advantage of the "bad play" you feel you are up against.

As for the magic man, I did not drop one single bad beat on this guy and, in fact, went in with the best of it 2 out of the 3 times we were all-in against each other. And I never once called off my chips to him. The one time I lost was my last hand where he called my AJ push with his 55 and he won. He then was kind enough to tell me to "get the fuck out." Way to be a class act champ.

This isn't a rant post and I certainly don't want to start any retarded flame wars. I'm just getting my thoughts out and then I'm done. However, let me finish up this post with a thought that goes out to everyone who plays poker, including myself...

You are not as a good as you think you are.

We all can get better at this game and we all have our areas to learn and grow. Just ask yourself, "What do I want out of this humbling game?" If it is money, then go earn it, my friend. Like most people who play poker, I want to earn as much money as I can playing this game, however I contend that earning respect at the table is important as well. You certainly don't earn respect by being an asshat in the chat. Offer respect, get respect.

Until next time, may the felt be with you.

posted by TripJax @ 1:12 PM, ,




Gigli Be Me
Wednesday, November 14, 2007

I played in Smokkee's BoDonkey tournament last night knowing I shouldn't have and ended up busting Gigli, 20th out of 20. I knew from the get go I shouldn't be playing, but I did anyway. That's not why I finished 20th mind you. I've decided to never try and make excuses for my terrible finishes because if I do that, I better take a look at my great finishes and find excuses for my deep runs as well.

I'm trying to play in as many BBTwo events and that makes playing Tuesday difficult with 4 straight days of poker. Add the Big Game to the mix this week and that's a lot of poker to be playing for a husband and father. I was playing admittedly tarded early on raising pots I had no business in - especially with the baby blind levels we were at - but I was really just trying to induce some action to either get things going early or get the hell out of dodge.

Around the 2nd level LilJax, who is 2 years old, came over with a stack of books for me to read to her. Suddenly I was playing poker and reading children's books. Around the 3rd book I wake up with a set of bunny rabbits...no wait...I wake up with a set of 8's...oops. Unfortunately, the board was very ugly with straight and flush possibilities. By the river I was staring at a possible 4 card straight on the board and knew that I was making a call I would lose with, but the moment I got those set of 8's, I was going to the felt with them. I figured I could double-up or be done. I was actually relieved when I lost and was able to focus on LilJax. Plus, the player who beat me was the player I knocked out with my straight flush the night before, so at least they got some revenge. Not to mention they Hoyed me in the process! Well done by the way, SH80.

So all the above is to note there was a lesson learned...don't play when you know you shouldn't. I knew I shouldn't be playing, but I did anyway. The way I see it is I've gotten my Gigli out of the way just in time for The Mook tonight.



Tomorrow I plan to do a follow-up to my recent post, Exuding Strength. I appreciate everyone who commented as it has given me some more to think and write about. That's it for today's post, but let me leave you with this. I'm playing in the Mookie, Riverchasers and Big Game this week. I certainly hope you'll join me. Details are in the picture below (click to embiggen) or can be found here.



Until next time, may the felt be with you.

posted by TripJax @ 11:20 AM, ,




"Four!"
Tuesday, November 13, 2007

An interesting thing happened last night in the BBTwo Hoy. I got all-in with a player and lost the hand, then was immediately moved to another table. I still had about 1000 in chips remaining, but it almost felt like I had just been knocked out of the tourney. I'm pretty sure since I lost the all-in and was moved, it looked to some as if I had been knocked out - I seem to recall someone typing "gg." For a moment I even thought I was knocked out since a new table did not pop up. Turns out I had simply been moved to a table I had been watching earlier, but had minimized on my desktop.

Once I realized where I was, I found myself in a hurt up situation. As many of you know, last nights tourney was a turbo - something near and dear to my heart - but something that was tough for a guy with only 1000 in chips and ever increasing blinds. Not long into my stay at that table, I push all-in for my final 1200, I think it was, and found 2 callers. The flop came, T J A and suddenly my 66 is looking pretty abysmal against 2 players - one of which had raised prior to my push. The initial raiser bet the dry side pot and the other player begrudgingly folded. I was delighted to see the initial raiser with only a draw and even more delighted to see it not hit. Of course, the 3rd player noted that had he not been bet out of the dry side pot, he would have won the hand. Woot!

Suddenly I was back over 4k and had life. I nearly made the comment that I was just gonna have to win the tournament now. I refrained as usually when I call out how I will do in a tournament, I instead donk quite undramatically. So instead I just kept my chat shut. Only a few hands later I pick up KK and decide to play them rather soft. Of course the flop comes out with an Ace - the second time it had done that for me while holding KK - and the player pushes all-in for his remaining chips. This is the same player that bet the dry side pot earlier and something just felt fishy about his all-in. Yes he could have been pushing with an Ace there hoping to induce a call from someone over thinking things, but I just didn't feel it. I called and it turns out he was again on a draw and my KK held up for another nice post. Suddenly I'm up to 8k and above average.

From there I just played what I believe to be pretty damn solid poker and caught some primo cards at the perfect time. Another example is another all-in by one player and a call by another when I'm in the BB. I see a flop with low suited cards and flop an open-ended straight flush draw. Other player bets small and I call. Turn does me no good and player, I believe, pushes all-in for the remainder. I call getting good odds on my OESFD and I hit my straight flush 3 to 7 in clubs. Talk about sweet.

From there I rode my big stack to the final table. I was the chipleader numerous times at the final table, but at one point I had a great chance with over 100k with 5 players remaining. Not long after hitting 100k I took another final table tough hand loss that I felt kept me from a TOC seat. In the BB I hit trip tens and jamyhawk and I get it all-in on the turn. He has an open ended straight draw and hits his J on the river to take me down to 5k in chips. Looking back on the hand, I had considered pushing all-in after he bet 15k on the flop. I instead called and it turns out it wouldn't have mattered. I think jamyhawk calls my all-in on the flop and the outcome is no different. I ended up getting knocked out in 4th place as the picture above shows.

He ended up playing very well in the end there and I'm really glad to read how excited he is on the win. I'll just have to wait another day for my TOC seat. I now have a 2nd and 4th in the BBTwo and I can just taste a win.

This is a tad on the personal level, and not to be taken the wrong way, but in my deep runs I feel like I've been the personal springboard for the players that eventually won. That is to say that I seem to remember playing in key hands against jeciimd, huntvegas and now jamyhawk on the way to their wins. With jeciimd, our heads-up match was really tough and he won some key hands that I felt killed my chances at the TOC seat. Numerous times I was a card away from taking it down.

With huntsvegas, we also had a hand that propelled him into a nice chipstack (AA over QQ late in the tourney). And now, with jamyhawk, we had a huge hand that really set the tone for his chipstack and win. If I take that hand down I am the big chipleader with 4 remaining and poised for a nice chance.

Like I said, all the above is more on the personal level, having experienced the hands from my angle. When you win a tourney, you don't necessarily look at every hand you win and who you get the chips from. That said, when you DON'T win a tourney, but run deep, you tend to reflect on what hand/player kept you from the win.

For the most part, this type of attitude and thinking is bad. Numerous times in my deep runs I had to get lucky early or have the right scenario play out to even be in a position to have a chance at a TOC. I have to learn to do a better job of not having selective memory. How soon we forget our suckouts or monsters holding up, but never seem to forget being sucked out on or our monsters losing.



I was on 4 different Sucko horse lists last night and eventually helped K.O.D., every ones new best friend, to a horse win. He did a good job of picking 4 players who finished 20th, 16th, 9th and 4th. Not too shabby.

As a final note before I must go, I'm hoping last nights finish will push me back into the top 10 of the BBTwo standings. I can't view Al's leaderboard from work so I'll just have to wait and see when I get home (or someone can comment and let me know please). I was in 14th prior to last night. I do know last nights finish pushed me over $1000 in overall money won for the BBTwo. That coupled with my overall money lead in the BBT1 is really giving me the confidence I need to continue to push forward towards a TOC seat.

Until next time, may the felt be with you.

posted by TripJax @ 11:44 AM, ,




Exuding Strength (No Shit...Some Poker Thoughts For Once)
Friday, November 09, 2007

Last night I was outplayed near the end of my run at the Riverchasers BBTwo event (methinks the kids would say I was pwned). I can't remember the last time I stuffed my chips in good against Surf. He definitely knows my game and plays on my weaknesses. I guess that will happen when you drive 20 hours with someone and talk poker the whole way. He set me up and then rolled me over at the perfect time. Well played, sir.

We were down to under 30 remaining and the blinds were starting to get into that steal, re-steal range where so many chips are accumulated. Surf was raising a goodly amount and re-raised me off of a hand and showed down, I think, K3d. At the time I told him I folded the better hand, but it wasn't really true. I held TQd so it was a good fold by me. Bottomline was it was a good play by him. In hindsight, it was a great set-up play.

Only minutes later I raised his BB while I was in the SB with KQo. He popped it again and I pushed all-in over the top. Again, in hindsight it is so obvious I've been set-up, but I just didn't accept it at the time. As it were, he had me near dead with his AQ, and the board gave me nothing sending me packing. I was only a couple of spots from the points, but I don't give a rats arse about cracking into the points. I want final tables and top 3 finishes. Obviously I want a win, but you gotta get to the final table first, so that must be a goal.

I'm already ready for next weeks BBTwo events.



A question for you pokery thinking folks. This is not very deep thinking, and certainly nothing new, but I just want to gauge your thoughts...

You are in a tourney or sng and you have gotten a hand to heads-up. You maintain a chip lead over your opponent of, lets say, atleast 2 to 1. Do you exude more strength when putting a player all-in by betting/raising an amount at or just over their chipcount or by stuffing your entire stack into the middle?

Now let me take this question one extra step. Assuming the same scenario where you ARE going to put a player all-in, what's the better play when you desire a call and what is the better play when you would just as well like to see a fold and take the pot down without a call?

Bonus question I just thought about. What about adding The Hoy or Reverse Hoy in the above scenario (for those that don't know those terms...putting them all-in except for one of their chips or putting all your chips in except for one of your chips). Does that exude strength in the above scenario as well?

Finally, what do you think non-bloggers think when you bust out The Hoy or Reverse Hoy on them?

I know, I know, way too many questions, so take your pick and answer which ever ones you want...



In case you missed my post(s) from yesterday, I WILL be making it to the WPBT Winter Gathering this year and I'm extremely stoked. ChickJax is also very excited as well. I'm so glad she'll be there to help roll my drunk ask around in the wheelchair all weekend. Think the arm handles of the chair will fit under the poker tables?

It was a very cool thing to receive a voice message, a text, an email and an instant message, each from different people, only hours after posting that we were going to be making the trip. Way to utilize all the communication avenues folks! I just wish I still had a pager so someone could have "hit me on the hip" as well.

Until next time, may the felt be with you.

posted by TripJax @ 9:38 AM, ,




Shock and Aaaawwwweeee-Yyyyeeeeaaaahhhh!
Thursday, November 08, 2007

Two posts in one day? Oh snap! Must be something interesting of note.

I've already done this 7 Things post once before, but I'll do it one more time since I actually have something to tell. I shan't tag any one or follow any rules on this one, so here it goes...

7 Things

1. I have NEVER been to Las Vegas.

2. It stands to reason then that I have never made it to a WPBT gathering.

3. I've been doing this poker blog thing longer than the average poker blogger (3+ years is like 10 years when it comes to blogging) , so 1 and 2 are pretty depressing to me.

4. I gave myself a 10% chance of making it to the upcoming WPBT winter gathering in Vegas this December, based on my track record noted above.

5. I never gave ChickJax a chance of making it to the upcoming WPBT gathering in Vegas this December.

6. Fuck that. TripJax - Flight Reservation, Departs GSO Fri, Dec 7, 2007 6:00am, Arrives LAS, NV 10:12am. Imperial Palace room locked and loaded.

7. Oh...and ChickJax is coming too!

I'm shocked that I pulled the trigger and made this happen and even more shocked that ChickJax was down with it. She doesn't know a flush draw from a toilet flush, so she will probably go shop while we play poker, but that will be all good with her. I can't wait for you all to meet her and finally prove that I really do have a wife.

We will of course probably find some time to go off and do some cool stuff on our own, but we're both excited about the trip and getting to hang with fellow ghey ask broggers. You'll notice we aren't coming in until Friday morning, while most everyone else is coming in on Thursday. Thems the breaks, but it was the best we could do under the circumstances.

Now I just have to figure out how to pay for all this. Anyone want to advertise on TripJax.com?

Lets light this candle!

Until next time, may the felt be with you.

posted by TripJax @ 2:44 PM, ,




Step Hell

I went out in The Mookie last night on a tough hand, but I didn't let it phase me. I've come to terms with the fact that we each have varying styles as well as a different thought process for each hand and things will play out as they may. There's not much you can do about it once the cards hit the felt. As the K.O.D. has mentioned time and again, once a player pays the buy-in to a tournament, they can play however they want to. Adjusting your play and your mindset to that reality is tough, but doable. We could probably all use a refresher course on that one.

I put myself in a perfect position to double up last night and it didn't work out. Nothing I can do about it so I just have to shut down the computer or move on to the next game. If I let it effect me, then I've let it effect my game. If I adjust to it and gain from it, I've let it help my game.

Okay, now that I've gotten that tripe out of the way...lets move on...



I've gone and done it. I logged onto PokerStars last night and saw that I had $2 and about 1400 FPP's. I also noticed they have the new Steps towards the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. Well, I've gone and gotten myself into Step Hell. I once got mesmerized by the Party Poker steps and 3 weeks later, I was getting no where...very slowly.

So, of course, what do I do but fire up a Step 1 with my FPP's and get rolling. I managed to win the Step 1 and was looking good in my Step 2 to move onto Step 3, but it was not to be as I bubbled advancing. I can't remember if I was knocked back down to a Step 1 or 2, but either way, I'm already in Step Hell. I have to admit though, I'm enjoying it in the early going. I'm not sure what it is, but I'm drawn to the Step format, even though inside I curse it.

I think it's because I enjoy new ideas and different concepts for games. If you look back on my archives you'll see some "Poker Sites Take Notice" posts where I tried to come up with new ideas for poker games, or at least alternative thinking for existing games. So I guess that's why I really love seeing innovative ideas from the poker sites. I'm not saying this Step process is anything new, since Party used to do it, but it is great to see it back in a position to help players advance to larger events.

Man, I was poised for a long post, but work just snuck up and bit me in the ass. As a result...

Until next time, may the felt be with you...

posted by TripJax @ 12:26 PM, ,




Touch Screen Online Poker Action
Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Another short post today. Not sure if I'll make Smokkee's Bodonkery tonight, but I'm gonna give it a whirl. I was looking for a deep run in The Hoy last night, but flamed near the end. I think I went out somewhere in the middle to high teens if memory serves. Congrats to Kajagoogle for taking that thing down last night. Well done, Sir.

I was just reading over at Gizmodo and I noticed their vision of a possible MacBook tablet PC. It struck me that it would be sweet to have a tablet pc with touch screen functionality to play poker on. Sort of a big ass iPod Touch. To be able to sit on your couch with a pc in your lap and no mouse and just touch screen all the action at the table would be the shizzle. Or when you need to, just prop it on a desk/table and use the hologram keyboard.

I must admit, I really don't know if this type of touchscreen tablet pc is already on the market and I'm just slow to the show, or if this is something we'll see down the road. Anyone care to comment or point me in a good direction? In the meantime...

Check out some pictures below to give you an idea. So who can photoshop some Full Tilt poker action onto one of those things to really mock it up goot?



Photo ganked from Gizmodo, here. Click to embiggen.


Photo ganked from Gizmodo, but from Factory Joe. Click to embiggen.

Until next time, may the felt be with you.

posted by TripJax @ 1:20 PM, ,




Go Bro!
Monday, November 05, 2007

First off, I have to offer a congrats to my brother, ChapelncHill, who won a tournament with 2700 entrants. It was a freeroll, so no huge payout, but outlasting 2700 entrants to win a tourney is damn impressive. He took down $100 for his troubles and a boost of confidence as the BBTwo events get back into gear this week. I, for one, have never come close to winning a tournament of that size, so I'm impressed. King Of the Freeroll Donks! Nice job bro.

Speaking of BBTwo, the series continues this week with The Hoy tonight, The Mookie on Wednesday and The Riverchasers on Thursday. And if you are a glutton for punishment and want to play every day of the week, well then don't forget Smokkee's bodonkery and Kat's donkament (details on her sidebar). I'll do my best to make them all, but no promises.

That's it for me today and probably tomorrow as well. Work is kicking my ask.See you at the tables and....

Until next time, may the felt be with you.

posted by TripJax @ 10:17 AM, ,




Free Booty
Friday, November 02, 2007

I was poised for another deep run in a BBTwo event last night, but things went sour at the final two tables when I ran QQ into the eventual winners AA. I finished 13th while that hand propelled huntsvegas into a chipstack he could do some damage with, or at the very least, have some breathing room.

Only a few days earlier I had helped him out by trading money on Paypal for money on Full Tilt so he could get in on the BBTwo action. Then I help him by stuffing my chips in the middle with QQ versus AA at a key point in the tourney. Geez, what's next, I make the long trek to his house and wash his car?!

I keed, I keed. A huge congrats to my boy...always good to help a brotha out!

I finished in the money, netting a whopping $1.87 after the buy-in and fees were covered. I'm having McDonalds for lunch today bitches!



I'm currently reading Barry Greenstein's Ace On The River, which I received in the mail from pipedream over at Sitting The Apple. He is a Colorado poker blogger, so maybe he and Peaker can hook up at some point.

Thanks again for the book pipedream. So far I'm enjoying it!

Getting that book reminded me of all the cool swag I've gotten from poker bloggers over the last few years (free booty, if you will). I will inevitably forgot someone, so my apologies in advance, but I'd like to take a moment to thank some folks for cool shit I've gotten on this wild ride I've taken over the years. Some of the stuff I earned in poker contests, but other stuff was completely unexpected, thus kick ask.

Again, my apologies if I forget anyone, but I don't mind being reminded in the comments...

Veneno - A very cool personalized silver card holder
GCox25 - A ton of goodies during Okie1 and Okie2.
Katitude - Awesome poker dice.
Ten Mile - A sweet MoneyMaker card protector.
Maudie - A kick ask shot glass.
Twitch - Some cool casino chips
Gracie - A funky weird CD.
Pipedream - So far so good...Ace On The River book
Instant Tragedy...Just Add Torture - Hooked me up with a cool T-shirt at Okie2

I also got a donkey card capper, but for the life of me, I can't recall who I got it from. I want to say Mookie, but I also want to say that's wrong. I did end up giving the donkey to it's rightful owner, GCox25 during OkieVegas1. Who am I kidding? I would have been better off pulling a rock from his own yard and handing it to him, the rock he is at the tables.

So, from what I can remember, that's it. I'm sure I'm forgetting something though, so set me straight people. Oh, and I missed a link to Wwonka yesterday, so I'm making good on that now.



Three more attempts at implementing SAGE heads-up and still unable to get to that point. I lost two $11 heads-up matches, then won one $22 match and decided to call it a night. Those turbos rarely seem to make it to the higher blind levels where I can implement SAGE it seems. I think I'm gonna have to create another spreadsheet for the regular one table sng's and give them a whirl. Maybe this weekend.

Until next time, may the felt be with you.

posted by TripJax @ 11:10 AM, ,




SAGE (Sit And Go Endgame System)
Thursday, November 01, 2007

I finished 112 out of 114 in The Mookie last night. Thus I'm the Gigliii instead of Gigli. It was early in the tournament (no shit dumb ass) and I woke up with AA in the BB. There was a raise and re-raise by the time the action was to me. I knew my re-re-raise would be 100% obvious so I decided to take advantage of my little nugget of power in the BB and call the re-raise. I was actually hoping the initial raiser would push there, but I figured it wouldn't happen.

The flop comes a very ugly 8h7h5s putting flush draws, straight draws, connectors and just about anything else you could think of to slay rockets. My read was we all had big pocket pairs, AA QQ JJ, but if not, I knew I was screwed. I don't recall exactly what happened on the flop, but I think it was bet, raise and then I pushed. I got the call with a made set of 7's and I was toast.

I don't really feel like I played the hand terribly, but it bugs me that I didn't give a little more consideration to the texture of the board. Lesson learned...I need to do a better job of adjusting my reads and what I think is transpiring as the hand progresses. I'm glad I lost the hand so I could think about the play a little more. It's not very deep thinking, but occasionally I need these types of plays to occur to make me question my own plays.

Wonka (the hammer player version) posted the hand for prosperity.



Recently I read a post Klopzi, erm, posted that went into detail on SAGE (Sit-And-Go Endgame System). Before you read on, click the previous link and give it a quick gander, but don't forget to come back and finish the post!

I had heard about this system and was wanting to give it a whirl at some point. I've been heads-up recently in a tournament, but had not played any SNG's lately. Being short on patience and having a love for heads-up SNG's, I decided to just get to the point and implement the SAGE system for heads-up play. While handing out candy for Halloween, I spent a little time drafting my own little SAGE guide on my Google docs (if you can't get to it from that link, I posted a picture to the right to give you an idea). This document is really meant for heads-up sng's, so if I start using SAGE in full table SNG's, I'll create another one for that.

If you spent the time to click on Klopzi's link above then you probably have a decent idea of how SAGE works. I didn't like the amount of time I had to spend thinking through each step of coming up with the SAGE action, so that's why I created the document. I won't go into details of my SAGE document now - and it is not even finished - but if anyone is interested in it I'll be glad to clean it up, finish it and dedicate a whole post to it in the future.

I will mention that what I realized is, if you calculate the ratio and it is between 0 and 7, thus in the qualifier of the SAGE system, if you hold J8 offsuit or better, you should Jam (SB) or Jam/Call (BB). This helps quicken some of the work of calculating SAGE in that you don't have to add up the numbers to see if you are okay to jam/call. No matter what, you are good to go. This holds true for all pairs except 22, but even then you will almost always be in a jam/call position. Anything less than J8 offsuit and you will need to finish the calculation before making a decision.

I'm still playing around with the quickest ways to apply SAGE and if it is really a good thing, but it's early in the game so I have to figure that shit out.

After my Mookie Gigliii last night, I was excited to give the SAGE system a whirl. I decided to go with the $11 turbo heads-up SNG's figuring I would get to the SAGE ratio implementation a lot quicker. A funny thing happened along the way. I won 5 straight SNG's and never once made it to where SAGE could be implemented.

Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy with my results, but I'll be at it again tonight hoping to get to the SAGE ratio at least once so I can give it a whirl.



Last night, while ChickJax took the kids around the neighborhood, I stayed on the porch, handing out candy to the kids. My set-up turned out to be rather scary for the little trick-or-treaters. The big ass grim reaper at my front door coupled with my Dracula gear might have been what did the trickin'.

I think this picture pretty much sums Halloween up for kids. Get dressed up and stuff your face with candy until you nearly vomit and go into a coma. No vomit or coma this time, but they hit a high and low rather quickly, especially the dragon.

Hope to see you all at the Riverchasers tonight for the next installment of the BBTwo...

Until next time may the felt be with you.

posted by TripJax @ 5:55 PM, ,